Clinton wrestling falls to Manchester in Division 3 district final

Thursday

Feb 7, 2013 at 1:45 PM

Redskins topple Onsted in semifinal match

By David ZinserDaily Telegram Sports Writer

The No. 10-ranked Manchester High School wrestling team left Clinton Wednesday with a Division 3 team district championship. To get there, the Flying Dutchmen defeated Columbia Central 66-6 and Clinton 64-3 in the championship match.

Clinton was able to make it to the championship by defeating Onsted 58-24 in the semifinals.

Manchester won its eighth straight district title and advanced to next Wednesday’s Onsted team regional against the Dundee district winner.

The matchup against Manchester was tough for Clinton, but the Redskins didn’t back down. Seven of the Redskins’ wrestlers were not pinned and several more gave a valiant effort.

The Redskins’ lone win against Manchester was a thriller. Jacob Brassfield (189 pounds) recorded his second win of the day with a 9-8 win that came down to the final seconds. Brassfield was up 8-6 until he was taken down, and the score then became 8-8 with only 40 seconds remaining. After struggling and battling his way out, Brassfield finally stood up with 20 seconds remaining as the Clinton gym erupted and Brassfield secured the win.

“Manchester is tough, real tough,” Clinton coach Kevin Beazley said. “Our kids did what they could today, and they really improved from the last time we went up against these guys. We’re still young and still need more mat time. Being young hurts and so does the tough schedule. We don’t have any easy matchups to boost these young guys’ confidence.”

The Redskins finished the team season 19-18 overall.

“There’s only two seniors on this team, and there’s 11 freshman,” Beazley said. “As these kids get more mat time, we will become better and better throughout the next few years.”

Of Onsted’s five matches against Clinton, they won three. Thomas Kast (140 ), Chad Smith (125) and Isaac Westgate (135) all recorded pins against their Clinton opponent.

“Our guys wrestled hard today,” Onsted coach Dave Pearce said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough guys, but that has been the story of our season.”

“It has been a rough year; a lot has to do with the team aspect for everyone,” said Pearce. “If you don’t win as a team, it’s hard to win individually. People say this is an individual sport, but that isn’t true. When your team is losing, it’s hard to get motivated.”

Despite the lack of numbers, Onsted was able to pull off a few wins this year and finished the season 3-29.

“We have a lot of young wrestlers,” Pearce said. “I have to do a better job of recruiting next year and build this program back up.”

Both Clinton and Onsted look to get their wrestlers ready for Saturday’s individual district tournament in Napoleon.